It was nice while it lasted, electricity I mean. We stopped in Menard for a couple of weeks, paying for camping at the local RV spot, Stockpen Crossing. We have not paid for a camping spot since early July in Fargo, North Dakota. Back then, we just wanted to turn on the air conditioner and cool off. But this time I felt like stopping and putting down roots.
Ward and I had been talking with real estate agents in the areas around Brady, Mason, Menard, Junction and Eldorado. The plan was to find a small acreage or a lot in one of the smaller towns where we could stop, maybe spend a few months, or something. I was not sure if we were after a place to live, or just somewhere where we could stop and relax for a while. A lot of people who go down south for the winter actually go to a specific RV park, and spent 6 months in the same place, year after year. We have been travelling, continually moving, and it was starting to get a little old. So, we stopped, plugged into the Matrix, and got ourselves a steady supply of electricity and water.
While in Menard, we made side trips to small towns checking on property, and looked at a few likely prospects inside the town of Menard as well. I kind of like Menard. And I like a few of the properties we looked at. The price was right, and by-laws would accommodate our needs (being able to park an RV on a city lot, and the ability to have a Llama or goat in our yard if we so chose). Oh, ya!! Menard has so very few by-laws that even the mayor has goats, 20 of them if what we were told was correct. One realtor referred to Menard as "anything goes Menard" because of their laxed laws. Also, the folks in the sleepy little town of Menard are very friendly.
Having said all that, you would think I would be sending out my new mailing address and setting up a patio and BBQ pit next to the RV. You would think invitations would be sent to one and all to come on down and join us. So close, so close. But I just could not commit. When push came to shove, I just was not sure I wanted to take the plunge. Was it the lack of internet service? I don't know. That's available at the library in town, and at the McDonalds in Brady. Was it the inability to get cell phone service? No, one could generally get service at the top of the hill, well usually, kind of. Was it because the radio station reception was sporatic and we have not been able to get any TV stations with our cheap old Radio Shack TV antenna? Or is it that we like just plain travelling, and we got itchy feet again? Maybe we're not ready to make the big decision on where our hats will hang.
We had a good stay in Menard. I did some baking in the toaster oven I packed. We plugged in the coffee maker and toaster. I baked some very delicious German dark rye bread that took care of a rye bread craving I have been having. And we had ourselves a wonderful couple of weeks fishing on the San Saba River. Word is, there are catfish in the river, and they like chicken livers, but the guy at the hardware store said it was too cold for them to be biting. Personally, I didn't care if I caught a fish or not, it was just nice sitting on the bank of the river, fishing, and reading a good book. Our evenings were spent reading or watching movies, never worrying about using too much electricity. Then we spent a quiet Christmas day in the RV, cooking chicken breasts, home made stuffing, and roast potatoes in our handy dandy electric frying pan.
I guess we took a vacation from our vacation. Well, we pulled up the stakes this morning and headed south. We made it to Fredericksburg, finally. And I must say, these people know they are a tourist town. Tonight we are staying at Walmart, but tomorrow we'll be checking out the town.
We are on the road again, taking in the sights and sound of South Texas Hill Country.
No comments:
Post a Comment